IAS faculty member Martha Groom is now a Co-PI on the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program. She and collaborators from across the University of Washington successfully submitted a new proposal this year for an extension of funding, receiving an additional $1.9 million on top of the initial $1.6 million from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The program began in 2014 and now is funded through 2019.

The Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program brings 20-24 undergraduates from backgrounds that are underrepresented in conservation science to Western Washington for an immersion summer program, and then matches them with conservation organizations for a second summer experience. This past summer, Groom mentored all of the returning students in their internships, and ran one internship for a set of 6 amazing students on urban gardens with IAS faculty members Jin-Kyu Jung and Susan Waters. In addition, Groom serves as the curriculum lead for the first year program. The goal of the program is to change the face of the conservation workforce to better reflect today's society. The program is unique in being highly interdisciplinary, and seeking to diversify not only the agenda of conservation in approach, as well as in personnel.